Bank of Korea

A special bank established in 1911 (Meiji 44) under the Bank of Korea Act after the annexation of Korea. After the Treaty of Amity with Korea (1876), the First National Bank (later the First Bank) advanced into Korea, and by 1888 had opened branches or offices in Busan, Wonsan, Incheon, and Keijo (now Seoul), and began operations. After the establishment of the Korean Empire (1897), the bank handled the Korean government's accounting and disbursement affairs, such as maritime customs, and in 1902 issued 10-yen, 5-yen, and 1-yen banknotes to organize Korea's currency in a time of chaos. The bank then essentially gained the status of Korea's central bank, as the First Bank's operations were taken over by the Bank of Korea, which was established as Korea's central bank by the Japan-Korea Government Agreement in July 1909. When Japan annexed Korea in 1910 and completed its colonization by Japan, the Bank of Korea Act was promulgated in March 1911 and the Bank of Korea was renamed the Bank of Korea. At the time of its establishment, the bank had a nominal capital of 10 million yen and its head office was located in Seoul. As the central financial institution in Korea, it issued banknotes prepared with Bank of Japan notes and handled treasury affairs, while also carrying out ordinary banking operations. As Japan advanced into the continent, it opened branches in Manchuria, North China, Siberia and other places and expanded its activities widely, but because its operations were linked to political activities, it often found itself in difficult situations and was liquidated several times with the support of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan. In September 1945 (Showa 20), after the end of World War II, the bank was designated as a closed institution by GHQ (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers).

[Kazuyoshi Okada]

"The First Bank in Korea, compiled and published by the First Bank (1908)" ▽ "The Ministry of Finance, compiled, Meiji and Taisho Financial History, Vol. 16 (1938, Financial and Economic Association)" ▽ "The First Bank 80-Year History Compilation Office, compiled, First Bank History, Vol. 1 (1957, First Bank)" ▽ "The Bank of Korea History Compilation Committee, compiled and published, A Brief History of the Bank of Korea (1960)" ▽ "The Bank of Korea History Research Group, compiled, History of the Bank of Korea (1987, Toyo Keizai Shinposha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

韓国併合後の1911年（明治44）に朝鮮銀行法に基づいて設立された特殊銀行。朝鮮との修好条約（1876）後、第一国立銀行（のちに第一銀行）は朝鮮に進出、1888年までに釜山(ふざん／プサン)、元山(げんざん／ウォンサン)、仁川(じんせん／インチョン)、京城（現ソウル）にそれぞれ支店または出張所を開設し、営業を開始した。大韓帝国成立（1897）後は、海関税など韓国政府の出納事務取扱いのほか、混乱した韓国の通貨整理にあたり、1902年からは10円、5円、1円の銀行券を発行、韓国政府もこれを法貨として公認したので、同行は実質的に韓国中央銀行としての地位を得るに至った。この第一銀行の諸業務は、1909年7月の日韓政府協定により韓国の中央銀行として韓国銀行が設立されると、同行に引き継がれることとなった。1910年韓国併合が実現、韓国の日本植民地化が完成すると、1911年3月朝鮮銀行法が公布され、韓国銀行は朝鮮銀行と改称された。設立時の公称資本金1000万円、本店を京城に置き、朝鮮の中枢金融機関として日本銀行券を準備とする銀行券の発行、国庫事務の取扱いを行うとともに、普通銀行業務を併せ行った。日本の大陸進出とともに満州、華北、シベリアなどにも店舗を設け、広範な活動を展開したが、政治的活動と結び付いた営業のため、しばしば苦境にたち、大蔵省、日本銀行の後援による整理も数回に及んだ。第二次世界大戦後の1945年（昭和20）9月、GHQ（連合国最高司令部）によって閉鎖機関に指定された。

［岡田和喜］

『第一銀行編・刊『韓国に於ける第一銀行』（1908）』▽『大蔵省編『明治大正財政史　第16巻』（1938・財政経済学会）』▽『第一銀行八十年史編纂室編『第一銀行史　上巻』（1957・第一銀行）』▽『朝鮮銀行史編纂委員会編・刊『朝鮮銀行略史』（1960）』▽『朝鮮銀行史研究会編『朝鮮銀行史』（1987・東洋経済新報社）』

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